I saw a video online saying that Teng Snake is not a snake, but in fact, it is a snake and a flying snake. In the Classic of Mountains and Seas, it is said that “there are many white snakes and flying snakes on the mountain of Chaisang.” Guo Pu annotated, “That is, a flying snake that rides on fog.” In the Xunzi, it is said, “A flying snake without feet.”.
Teng Snake is not only a mythological mythical beast, but also one of the twelve heavenly generals in Taoist culture, and one of the Eight Divine Beasts of Qimen Dunjia. In “Qi Men Dun Jia”, Teng She reports the fire of the south and is the god of deceit. She is gentle in nature and has a poisonous mouth, responsible for frightening and strange things. He is also included in the Six Beasts of the Book of Changes, and his position is quite similar. Four of the Six Beasts should be very familiar, namely “Qinglong”, “Zhuque”, “Baihu”, and “Xuanwu”. The remaining two are “Gouchen Tengshe”, which is a twenty-two star creature located in the north of the camp, referring to the phenomenon of false alarm and strange things.
There are not many records about flying snakes. In Han Feizi, there is a paragraph that “the former Yellow Emperor joined the ghosts and gods on Mount Taishan, drove an elephant cart and six dragons, and the two sides joined each other. Chi You was in front, Feng Bo swept, the rain master sprinkled, the tiger and the wolf were in front, the ghosts and gods were behind, the flying snake fell on the ground, the phoenix emperor covered, and the ghosts and gods were joined together as clear horns.” Here it is described that the Yellow Emperor joined the ghosts and gods on Mount Taishan, and the flying snake appeared in the records together with many mythical figures.
In legend, the Teng Snake also has natural enemies. In “Huainanzi”, it is said that “Teng Snake swims in fog and is almost as good as maggots.” Teng Snake can fly and naturally swim in thick fog, especially afraid of maggots, namely crickets and centipedes. There is an explanation in the Compendium of Materia Medica about how small centipedes and crickets can subdue snakes. When crickets and centipedes see a large snake, they will enter its head and eat its brain.
